Pray for Families (Transitioning to Adulthood)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

As children prepare to go away to college, or perhaps as college graduates now begin to seek new and distant shores, there are adjustments to by made by everyone.   To the parents, remember:

You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

Acts 3:25

Be steadfast in prayer and pray that your children follow the will of God in their lives, so that their endeavors will bless others.  May all you have taught them stay firmly rooted so that when the Son shines upon them, growth will occur.  May your offspring listen and hear:

Children, listen to me, your father; act accordingly, that you may be safe. For the Lord sets a father in honor over his children and confirms a mother’s authority over her sons. Those who honor their father atone for sins; they store up riches who respect their mother. Those who honor their father will have joy in their own children, and when they pray they are heard. Those who respect their father will live a long life; those who obey the Lord honor their mother.  Sirach 3:1-6

These are heavenly words of wisdom.  Let us pray that as children separate and begin the walk to true adulthood that they follow the unique paths that the Lord has prepared for each one of them.  May they continue to honor their parents in all that they do. Then truly, the world will be blessed.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

As you seek to grow, don’t cut your self off of the vine, the Master Gardener! He will help you bear fruit in due time. Patience! Pass it on!  

Pray for Marriages (Set us Aflame with Desire)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Marriage is about giving unreservedly to each other and not dwelling on self.   How are you doing?

Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:7-8

Lord, shower graces upon marriages so that each spouse is aflame with a loving desire to please the other.  Hear our humble prayer, so that unsuspecting spouses are disarmed of their anger by such loving kindnesses.  Jesus we trust in You!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

There is always hope and hope does not disappoint!  Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Transformed by Love)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Today is the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene.  She is the poster child of what can happen when sin meets love and mercy: total redemption. While exclusion, shaming, taunting, and self-loathing had no effect on her sinful choices, nor did the reprimands from priests elders, family, and friends result in a conversion, surprisingly, an encounter with Love did.  She learned that the love of Jesus is totally transformative.  Have you ever been totally disarmed by an unexpected show of love and kindness, especially from someone you didn’t know? Did it change you in some way?

“Go, and do not sin again." John 8:11

Mary Magdalene’s story should give us all hope, because each of us is broken by sin in some way.  Like her, we all have recourse to Jesus'  transformative love.  He calls us to conversion and desires us to be his light in this world. If the flame of His love lives in us, we become the spark of his Love that transforms others. 

All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Pray for family members that feel excluded, isolated, neglected or shamed, that they may experience the transformative love of Christ through everyone they encounter.

Peace, Joy and Love,

Janet

Love someone enough to share the good news. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Missed Communication)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Listening to various friends and coworkers, poor communication seems to be a key factor in marital discord. Either there is no communication, miscommunication, or loud communication if you catch my drift. Sometimes we are so busy talking or trying to interject our point that we fail to hear. Is it any coincidence that the words listen and silent share the same letters?

If you are willing to listen, you can learn; if you pay attention, you can be instructed. Sirach 6:33

If we do not listen well, how can we expect the Lord to listen to us when we call to Him for help?  How do we expect to hear Him when He answers us?

Let’s seek the humility to put our spouse first, admit we aren’t always right, and communicate from a heart full of Christ’s love.

Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for:“God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7

Lord, shower us with a grace that will increase within us the virtue of humility.  Help us to pause, silence ourselves, and always listen to our spouse with an open ear.  Help us to hear what is spoken and unspoken.  Help us to communicate clearly. Fill our hearts with your love so that it pours out of us in word, action, and silent expression.  With your grace, may we continue to spark love in one another. Hear our prayers and bless all marriages, especially those in most need.  Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

May your prayers rise to the heavens. Be silent and listen for the echo back.  Pass it on.  

Pray for Families (Love and the Family)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Family comes in many forms.  First, there's the family we were born into.  For some there's the family they've been adopted into, whether it was legally, spiritually or emotionally.  The reality is that God never planned for us to be alone, but to be surrounded by His very large family. He asks that we love one another, help one another, and to realize that we are all part of the whole.  Visit the sick, feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted are just some of his directives for us to be merciful toward one another.  If everyone was willing to love one another, what a wonderful world this would be.  Love is a choice.  It starts with us. 

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Lord, help us to empty ourselves of all of our narcissistic tendencies and to look out upon your family, which is our family.  Give us the faith to know that you will give us all the grace we need to be loving and merciful.  May we surrender our self-will and humbly accept your will. Bless our families. Unite us in love, peace, and prayer.  Bless this nation, bless the world, and help us to live in harmony.  It all begins with love, so set our hearts afire with your Love!  Lord, shine though us, that we may we be your light in the darkness!  Amen.

What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1:4-5

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet 

Be a beacon of His Light. Pray for our world family and share the love. Pass it on!  

Pray for Marriages (Peace in the Wilderness)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

This week I am spending lots of time in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada's, hiking, and enjoying the beauty of God's creation.  Here, there is a serenity and solitude that pulls me into conversations with the Lord.

It is of no surprise then that the Lord sometimes allows us to unknowingly wander into the figurative wilderness, often to a place where we feel lost, alone, and isolated.  For He knows that it is here that we will be reawakened to His presence and His desire to be in communication and communion with us.

So when in the context of marriage you feel like you are lost in the wilderness, know that the Lord is most intimately with you, whispering, redirecting, teaching, and leading you into a place of greater joy and a deeper peace.  Use this time to speak with Him, cry to Him, and rejoice in Him, because the Lord will never leave you or forsake you.  He wants to heal your marriage and infuse it with a more Christ-like love.  Don't despair in the wilderness, but be in awe of the plan he has for you and your spouse.

Say to the fearful of heart: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you.Then the eyes of the blind shall see, and the ears of the deaf be opened; Then the lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute tongue sing for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness. 

Isaiah 34:4-6

Prayer is a conversation with God.  Don't let it end when you leave the wilderness, but keep it going.  Additionally, please pray for those couples feeling hopelessly lost. Your prayers will help navigate them toward the Lord, into a paradise they never imagined. 

Peace, Joy, and Love, 

Janet

Prayers can be a communal compass.  Share your prayers and pass it on!

Pray for Families (Praising kindnesses)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Family can easily be taken for granted.  The small kindnesses they do for us on a daily/weekly/monthly basis can be overlooked as they become routine.  Unfortunately, what they don’t do for us tends to rise to the top of our consciousness.  So make a point of verbally noticing all your family does for you and each other and show some sincere appreciation. 

A good time to get the positive dialogue flowing is during a vacation or “stay-cation”.  Take this time to tune-in more closely to your family.  Vacations are a great way to make some lasting positive memories. Now here is the secret to a wonderful family vacation…

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. Colossians 3: 12-14

Most of all, don’t forget to pray with your family, while on vacation. As the routine changes, it can be even easier to slip in some prayer.  Say a prayer during your drive time, before heading out to the airport, after a day of fun, etc.  Pray for each family member, adding some personalized intentions.  Praise the Lord for His enduring kindness to your family.

Blessing to all of you as you enjoy the gift of summer!

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Prayer is a simple path to perfection, yours or others! Pass it on!  

Pray for Marriages (Restless)

“You move us to delight in praising You; for You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You.”  Confessions of St. Augustine

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Today let us pray for the marriages of restless spouses, those losing hope, those moving toward despair.  May they let go of their “independence”, open their hearts, and rest in Him instead.

I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And in that day, says the LORD, you will call me, `My husband,' and no longer will you call me, `My Ba'al.' And I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD. Hosea 2: 14, 16, 19-20

Now go, I will assist you in speaking and teach you what you are to say. You will speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will assist both you and him in speaking and teach you both what you are to do.  Exodus 4: 12,15

I saw their ways, but I will heal them. I will lead them and restore full comfort to them and to those who mourn for them, creating words of comfort. Peace! Peace, … says the LORD; and I will heal them. Isaiah 57:18-19

I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekial 36:26

“Courage…! Your faith has saved you.”  Matthew 9:20

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Encourage those needing courage.  Pass it on!! 

Pray for Families (The Freedom of the Sheepfold)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

As we approach Independence Day, I’ve been reflecting on “freedom”.

There is the secular definition of freedom as found in the dictionary. (Merriam-Webster Online)

 The quality or state of being free: as

• the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
• liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another 
• the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous 
• the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken

However, there lacks in this definition any responsibility to one another.

But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.  Galatians 5:15

“The exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything. It is false to maintain that man, the subject of this freedom, is an individual who is fully self-sufficient and whose finality is the satisfaction of his own interests in the enjoyment of earthly goods… By deviating from the moral law, man violates his own freedom, becomes imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against divine truth.” (CCC 1740)

For it is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish people. Be free, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but as slaves of God.  1 Peter 2:15-16

We find true freedom when we submit our lives to Him.

“…the more docile we are to the promptings of grace, the more we grow in inner freedom and confidence during trials, such as those we face in the pressures and constraints of the outer world.” (CCC 1742)

Lord, in prayer we lift up our families to you: our biological families, our adopted families, our spiritual families, and all of God’s children.   Shower us with your grace and infuse us with your love, so that we can pour it back out to one another.  May we focus on our commonalities, not our differences.  May we always seek to do good, allowing You to shine through us to others.  May all your lost sheep be guided into the freedom of your sheepfold.  For this we pray, now and forever. Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

We become free when we submit ourselves as slaves to God who loves us! Pass it on!